Cristero: Hike to Cristero War monument

Time: 4 hours total, including the 1-hour hike
Exertion level: Moderate
Included: Entrance, water, snack
Preparation: Should be in fair to good physical shape. The hike is not particularly long, but it is steep and rough for part of the way; wear boots or sturdy walking shoes and sun protection.

We drive above the village of La Yerbabuena, up the flank of the Volcán de Fuego. The short hike begins on a meadow looking up at the volcano, and wends through pine and old-growth forest. We walk through the "Parque Nacional Volcán de Colima", home to Mexico's largest white-tailed deer population, wild boar (jabalí), and other endangered species.

Hidden in a grove of trees, our destination is the wooded site where five "Cristeros" lost their lives while assembling explosives. In the 1926-29 Cristero War, zealous Catholics took up arms against the federal government in the wake of restrictions placed upon Catholic clergy and church activities. The area surrounding the volcano was a major battleground during the struggle.

At times during the war, hundreds of Cristero soldiers and family members lived in the meadows and forests of the volcano, using the natural barricade of the rough terrain to fortify themselves against the “federales".